Vietnamese, Chinese localities discuss cross-border tourism boost

Ho Quang Huy, Chairman of the People’s Committee of Mong Cai town, said the event on Friday emphasized the importance of tourism for socio-economic development and cultural exchange. Huy also highlighted the sector’s role in fostering cooperation and friendship.

Nguyen Trung Khanh, director of the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST), said that sharing road, air and sea borders, Vietnam and China hold highly favorable conditions for tourism cooperation.

Over the recent past, the tourism partnership between Quang Ninh and the neighboring Chinese province of Guangxi has substantially contributed to the two countries’ tourism ties, helping improve people’s life and consolidate a border of peace and friendship.

Li Jian, vice secretary of the Party Committee and Mayor of Dongxing city, noted this is the most attractive tourism product of his city. The number of cross-border tourists has surged so far this year with more than 120,000 Vietnamese visitors to Dongxing.

He suggested the two sides increase policy discussion, jointly build model tourist sites, form maritime tours, optimize customs clearance infrastructure and enhance inter-sectoral cooperation at border gates, open high-quality cross-border tours, and establish a “green” lane for self-drive tours.

They should also step up exchanges in terms of culture, sports, education, and health care while continuing to strengthen the friendship between the Chinese and Vietnamese peoples, he added.

For her part, Deputy Director of the Quang Ninh Tourism Department Nguyen Huyen Anh held that the two sides should improve the effectiveness of existing cooperation mechanisms and consider new cooperation models matching each locality and each country’s potential, advantages, conditions, and development priorities to create breakthroughs in tourism cooperation.

They need to bolster coordination in information sharing and market forecasting, especially about the two countries’ legal regulations and the two localities’ policies on tourism.

In addition, they should work to ensure sustainable tourist exchanges, a healthy business climate for both sides’ businesses, and a safe and friendly environment and quality services for visitors, she said.

Anh also recommended building a cross-border tourism cooperation program between border provinces of Vietnam and Guangxi and Yunnan provinces of China.

At the forum, representatives of travel firms and hotels also raised suggestions and proposals to foster cross-border tourism, expand the markets, and stimulate travel demand.

Prior to the Covid pandemic, China was constantly the biggest source of foreign tourists to Vietnam, accounting for about 30% of the total international arrivals in the Southeast Asian country. In 2019, Vietnam welcomed over 5.8 million Chinese visitors, according to the MCST.

Meanwhile, Vietnam was also one of the five largest sources of foreign tourists to China, which recorded over 7.9 million Vietnamese travelers in 2019 as calculated by the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

During the first 11 months of 2023, more than 11.2 million international tourists came to Vietnam, including over 1.5 million Chinese arrivals, statistics show.